Saiunkoku is a country with eight powerful houses governed by one emperor. However the new leader Ryuki Shi cares not for his new role and is rumored to spend his days chasing after noblemen in his court. Enter Shurei Hong... more &raquo, a princess whose family has fallen upon hard times. Her dreams of becoming a government official are unattainable since she is a woman, but a twist of fate gives her the chance of a lifetime. If she agrees to become the emperor's consort and turn him into a respectable ruler, she will be greatly rewarded...&laquo less

Movie Reviews

More Politics Than Romance

Keroberus | Los Angeles, CA USA | 08/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Saiunkoku Monogatari is based in a universe that is like ancient China (Tang/Heian period) but it's a land where gods still walk among mortals and magic is still used. In many ways, Saiunkoku is like a hybrid between The Twelve Kingdoms and Fushigi Yugi. (HINT: Not a lot of action and not a lot of romance, but a good story and you need to pay attention.) The best thing going for the series is that the heroine is a thoughtful, educated, smart girl you can grow to like. She can be a little too naive sometimes, and her obsession with money is hilarious, but her selflessness makes her unique.

It is a little misleading in the first story arc when we are introduced to our spunky heroine Shurei and the Emperor, Ryuki. Hard core shoujo romance enthusiasts will love the interaction between the Emperor and Shurei during the first 8 episodes. Truthfully though, that is as far as you are going to get with these two in terms of romance. The rest of the series is a tangled web of intrigue and plots and counter plots enough to make your head spin. You simply can't tell if Shurei will EVER fall in love by the end of the first season (episode 39). Thank goodness the 2nd season is still running strong as of April 2007 (another 39 episodes or more) in Japan and the fans in the US are dying to catch up!

There's certainly enough bishonen male characters to go around. Is it possible to have too MANY bishonen male characters? Nah! Let's just say Ryuki will have plenty of competition. Fushigi Yugi fans will be overjoyed to hear the talented voices of Tomokazu Seki, Midorikawa Hikaru and Koyasu Takehito together again on the Japanese track. Add Tokshihiko Seki (Sanzo of Saiyuki), Toshiyuki Morikawa (Alex Rowe of Last Exile) and Nobuyuki Hiyama (Hiei of Yu Yu Hakusho) and you know you have got something worth collecting.

The character design and background detail are very eye catching, and if anything, you can just drool over how beautiful everyone is!

My only complaint is that the translators didn't stay true to form and changed Shurei's last name rather inexplicably. Shurei hails from the famed house of "Kou" which means "red," that is now translated into "Hong" which means the same thing but in Chinese. Saiunkoku is LIKE China but NOT China. They don't even speak CHINESE! I think the translators should have kept the original names as intended by the manga author Sai Yukino."

Story of Sauinkoku - Jane Austin in Ancient China

phoenix phan | Hilliard, OH, USA | 07/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With gorgeous animation, beautiful costumes, stunning scenery, a spunky heroine, and the most glorious men in all of anime, Story of Sauinkoku has everything I love about anime.

The story reminds me of my favorite Jane Austin novels. An intelligent, ambitious young woman stuck in genteel poverty struggles to keep her family fed. Then a court official makes her an offer she can't refuse. If she can give the new Emperor enough on the job training to make him fit to run the country, she'll get enough money to restore her shabby family manor to its former glory. The only drawback - she'll have to pretend to be the Emperor's consort. Good thing he's rumored to be gay...

I have the entire 1st season on fan sub copies - but I love this so much I intend to buy it for real. And although the target demo for this is clearly female, the great animation, interesting characters and storylines make this one of my husband's favorites as well."